


Not Every Ending (Needs to End in Tears)

by Pearl_Unplanned



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Hurt Steve, M/M, Some Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel, if I still need to say that, sad Steve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-19 01:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19346893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pearl_Unplanned/pseuds/Pearl_Unplanned
Summary: When Steve goes to return the stones, he starts with Vormir. But he didn't go to Vormir with plans on just throwing the stone back. No, he went there to make a deal, and he wasn't about to leave without being heard.--“I came here to make a deal,” Steve said, staring off into the darkness of Vormir. “Because there’s one of two ways that this is going to go. Either I get Tony and Natasha back, or I’m usingthesestones to wipe out as many other stones as possible.”He wasdone. He wasreadyto threaten the very existence of reality because it wasn’t fair. Why did they have to lose so much just to restore what Thanos had taken away?“That’s not how this works,” Skull tried speaking up, but Steve cut him off.“I’m not asking you,” Steve growled. “This is between me and the stones.”





	Not Every Ending (Needs to End in Tears)

**Author's Note:**

> INFO:  
> -Tony and Pepper weren't together before this, they separated but co-parented Morgan. Before this story Steve and Tony had been trying to figure things out, but then, you know, Endgame happened.  
> -This isn't how the stones work, but screw it, this is how I want them to work.  
> -Skull never told Thanos that a soul for a soul was permanent and couldn't be undone. Just saying.  
> -Pretend the end stuff with old Steve didn't happen (obviously since I'm changing it).

 

            Steve didn’t shed one single tear at the funeral. Most of the team thought that he was still in shock over what had happened. It was a good alibi, which meant that Steve didn’t have to explain a thing to them. He didn’t have to voice _why_ he wasn’t crying because no one dared ask him why. They all just assumed…

            …and he let them.

            It was for the best, after all.

            If they had known what he was about to do… there was no way that any of them would’ve given him the stones or the time machine. He would’ve been written off as mentally unstable, not allowed to go on such a dangerous mission that required absolute certainty or else all of reality could crumble should the stones not be returned to their proper places.

            And yet here he was, spare Iron Man gauntlet he’d stolen snugly fit on his left hand, gripping the briefcase with all of the stones. Vormir. It wasn’t a pretty sight, that was for sure.

            Despite the plan that he’d gone over with his team, which of course _ended_ with Vormir as Clint had warned him of exactly _who_ would be waiting for him there, Steve chose to go to Vormir first.

            As he climbed the rocks of Vormir, heading towards the grave of one of his dearest friends, the super-soldier braced himself for the conversation he was about to have. It wasn’t going to be pretty, if he had to argue, but he had all the time in the world to do so.

            The voice that greeted him was ghastly, but familiar. “Captain America. Here I thought that the last time I would have to see you was back in the twentieth century.”

            “That would’ve been much better,” Steve muttered, not even bothering to glance over at the ghost-like man. “The years haven’t treated you well, huh, Skull?”

            “They have treated you worse,” the demonic man said, floating alongside him like they were old friends. Only one set of footsteps echoed across the rocks. “They have given you everything you never realized you wanted, then took it all away from you, yes? And they have given me infinite wisdom. Who has it worse?”

            The other man’s response had Steve stopping dead in his tracks. He turned his gaze on the man, twin blue flames watching him with a hatred he hadn’t felt in ages. “I don’t need your help _or_ your advice, because no matter _what_ happens here, my mortal life will be _infinitely_ better than your undying existence.”

            Spinning on his heel, Steve stormed off towards the edge of the mountain, the place where he knew Natasha had jumped from, where she had sacrificed her own life so that countless others could live. He couldn’t help but glance over the edge into the depths of the darkness, seeing nothing more than a stain of blood where his friend must have been.

            His heart ached, and for a moment Steve wasn’t sure if he’d be able to breathe. He hadn’t lost the entire team, but two people who meant the world to him were now dead, and… and it hurt more than he’d ever be able to explain. It was more than losing a piece of himself.

            “You can either give the stone to me, or return it to Vormir,” Skull spoke up unhelpfully, making a throwing gesture.

            “I came here to make a deal,” Steve said, staring off into the darkness of Vormir. “Because there’s one of two ways that this is going to go. Either I get Tony and Natasha back, or I’m using _these_ stones to wipe out as many other stones as possible.”

            He was done. He was _ready_ to threaten the very existence of reality because _it_ _wasn’t fair_. Why did they have to lose so much just to restore what Thanos had taken away?

            “That’s not how this works,” Skull tried speaking up, but Steve cut him off.

            “I’m not asking you,” Steve growled, glaring at the man he once hated more than anyone else. Now Skull had become almost like a memory after everything he’d faced in this new world, so far beyond what he’d initially signed up for. “This is between me and the stones.”

            And then the briefcase was opened, and Steve could feel their energy. This is why Vormir had been his first destination. The gauntlet seemed to attract the stones like they were made to be placed in it.

            A sudden and powerful pain flashed through Steve, starting with his hand and coursing up through his arm, igniting a fire in his bloodstream that was only fueled more with every breath, every passing second. He didn’t bother arguing out loud, not with something as eternal as the infinity stones, so instead Steve just snapped his fingers as fast as possible.

            There was a pressure that started growing in his head, but the instant he snapped his fingers, Steve found his world engulfed in a black nothingness.

 

            _The stones required a sacrifice, but with sacrifice there is reward,_ one of the beings that floated in his head whispered.

            He couldn’t see, he couldn’t feel, he couldn’t taste or smell or _hear_.

            The being felt orange, as if it had touched his soul instead of his body, as if he was seeing it without eyes.

            _There is more that needs to be done than threats,_ the blue soul added sympathetically.

            They spoke with the softness of a breath, the slightness of an echo.

            The green soul was next. _Six were taken, six must be replaced._

 _Your timeline will fall without them,_ the red soul whispered.

            It was all so inhuman, so… _unreal_.

            _Here is the new deal,_ the yellow one declared, leaving no room for negotiation. _Six new stones, scattered through the stars, with no knowledge of where they may be._

 _I can do that,_ Steve agreed, because Thanos had destroyed the stones, their timeline would need new ones. Their universe needed stones.

            _It will take a toll, but we shall grant you what you desire,_ the purple soul spoke. Hope, there was hope in that promise that drove Steve to agree. _Not many would be willing to do this._

 _That’s why I want to bring back those who were,_ Steve said, because while everyone had been willing to give their lives to bring half the universe back, only two had actually given up everything to retrieve the stones.

            _One soul taken here,_ the orange, red and yellow stones said, filling Steve’s vision with such brilliant colors, brighter than any star he’d ever seen. The warmth of the colors was like heat under his skin, starting at his fingertips and running up his left arm.

            _And one soul taken there,_ blue, green and purple finished, filling Steve’s vision with their respective hues until every color swirled together into a blinding, painful _white…_

 

            Steve gasped, feeling pain immediately shooting up his arm the second that he was conscious again. His head ached, there had been too many _things_ in his head just seconds—perhaps an eternity?—earlier. It was as if his skull had been cracked open to let whatever had just happened inside, but the crack hadn’t been sealed when everything had left him.

            The fire in his veins was out, leaving a familiar ache in his left arm. Familiar to the pain he’d just been in, but somewhat dulled by the fact that nothing was adding to that immense pain any longer. It was over, the pain was going to last, but he… he was alive?

            Steve couldn’t find the energy to sit up, to see what had happened to his arm, what had happened to the stones. His ears were still ringing with the energy from the stones, the blast that had potentially recreated what had been destroyed. But had they really been?

            No, the stones would never destroy themselves. That was too much for any mortal to accomplish. They’d been hidden somewhere throughout time and space, somewhere where no one would be able to get to them until now… until they could be brought back.

            His body spasmed in pain a bit when hands touched his skin, hands that felt too warm and too cold at the same time, as if he had a fever. Panic filled his body since _Skull shouldn’t be able to touch him, what if he took the stones? He couldn’t let some Nazi ghost have control over the infinity stones—_

            “Steve? Steve, can you hear me? What did you do, what did the hell did you do?” It was more than just hands touching his skin. Icy cold drops were hitting his skin, and it took a moment to recognize those as tears.

            “It worked?” Steve choked out, fighting for the words to be spoken. He forced his eyelids open, though the vision he saw in front of him just blurred his sight even more.

            Icy tears of his own ran down his cheeks as Steve was pulled into a somewhat sitting position. His left arm ached as it was moved, but it only took a few more seconds to realize that the glove had been removed from his hand.

            When his eyes were able to focus on the gauntlet that was held in front of him, Steve couldn’t help but grin upon only seeing five stones there.

            “You reckless idiot,” a soft voice whispered.

            “He’s way _beyond_ being an idiot now,” a second voice, panicked and worried, snapped. “He’s not a god, he’s not a titan. You were supposed to let _me_ finish this—there was only one way—”

            “If you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be here to do this,” Steve pointed out, wincing and groaning as he tried to move his arm.

            Tony looked just as he did before he had died, so full of energy and vengeance and strength. There was this desire to _save_ in him, one that Steve had always admired so much. Those brilliant eyes of his reflected the stars, and Steve found himself getting lost in their profound amber depths.

            Natasha, too, looked like she hadn’t aged a moment past when Steve had last seen her, when they had originally gone on the time heist. Her hair still was dyed blonde on the ends, though Steve was so glad she’d let that fiery red grow back out. She hadn’t looked so full of hope as she had when they’d gone on the time heist, and just seeing that spark of life in her eyes made Steve want to cry all over again.

            They were both alive—alive and well—directly in front of him.

            “A soul for a soul, there was never supposed to be a way to take it back,” the Red Skull spoke up angrily, _disbelievingly,_ drawing Steve out of one of the happiest moments he’d had in a long time.

            “It wasn’t a lie,” Steve said, the ‘voices’ still echoing with answers in his ears, only for him to hear. “It was a test, to make sure we would return, to make sure we would fix… The stones are back. They just wanted the stones to be back where they should’ve been, so a timeline wasn’t left without them. They’re too important to the fabric of the universe…”

            The words that were coming out of his mouth were just recited whispers, nothing that Steve could say with any more certainty than _that’s_ what the souls had told him.

            There was something that the Red Skull hadn’t known, hadn’t been able to foresee even with that infinite wisdom of his while he led people here for the stone. The stones hadn’t _told_ him everything, and Steve couldn’t help but feel a guilty pleasure at that.

            “I just had to make a deal with them,” he said, giving Schmidt a smirk that said _I won_.

            “And you could’ve _died_ ,” Tony snapped, gripping Steve’s jaw with one hand to force them face to face. “What would we have done then?”

            “You would’ve returned the stones and gone back to your daughter,” Steve said plainly, because that was all he wanted. He just wanted the people he cared for the most to be able to be _happy_ and to live as they wanted to, not to continue fighting because they had to.

            “We can return the stones,” Natasha said with the certainty of someone who had died and been brought back. “Just go back home, okay?”

            “No, I can help,” Steve mumbled, using his free— _good_ —arm to grab the extra time machines that he’d snagged, already filled with Pym Particles. “I just need to know that you two got home safely.”

            “Give me some particles, give me some stones, we’re taking these back,” Tony argued, stealing the Pym Particles off of him before he could even move to defend himself.

            “I’ll take the power stone,” Natasha said, pulling the orb that the power stone had been in out of the briefcase.

            “I’ve got time and mind,” Tony said, grabbing the two stones before Steve was able to fight with either of them.

            Before Natasha was able to reach for the space stone, Steve stopped her. “I need to take that one back, and the reality one too since I’ve also got to drop off the hammer.” He smiled at her, so glad to see her alive when they were all so sure they’d never get to see her again. “You already helped me return the soul stone, Tasha, just take that one if you’re going to take any of them. Just…” He looked them both in the eye, wanting them to know he was serious. “Just be careful, I want to see you guys when I get back. Okay? Can you promise me that?”

            “I promise,” Natasha swore, kissing his forehead before she stood up and put the wristband on. “I’ll see you both soon.”

            And then she was gone, nearly giving Steve a heart attack because she was just back and then gone again already.

            “I promise too,” Tony whispered, leaning closer to press a quick yet soft kiss to his lips before pulling back. “Even though I still think you’re an idiot for doing this. I was prepared to—to die to save the universe.”

            “I know. I just didn’t want to let that be the only option,” Steve murmured, leaning into the touch as Tony gently stroked a hand across his cheek.

            “Alright, sap, up you go. I can take space back too, you’ve got enough to deal with, with that screwed up arm of yours,” Tony said, glaring at Steve’s arm like it was slowly killing him or something.

            It was just the arm that had burned, Steve could feel it. Plus, not disintegrating people seemed to make the effect far lesser, and only changing three things—two deaths and a replacement of the stones—made it so that the stones didn’t take too hard of a toll on his body.

            The other man dragged him to his feet, and Steve tried to hold back his grimace of pain as much as possible.

            “You risked everything… for me and Nat?” Tony asked softly, and once again Steve was lost staring into those eyes.

            “Always,” Steve whispered. “I would do anything for my team, but especially for you, Tony. I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I know we’ve talked about some of them, but… I’m just glad I’ll have a chance to make up for them now.”

            “I forgave you a long time ago, Stevie,” Tony half-laughed, half-cried as he pressed his face against Steve’s chest. “God, you’ve always gotta be the hero, don’t you? You’ve gotta be my hero, and now you’re gonna be Morgan’s hero too… for bring her Dad back.”

            “Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Steve replied, so glad to hear Tony’s teasing again. He would never grow tired of Tony’s teasing. “I know you said that you’ll be back, but I just… I need to make sure. I can’t lose you again.”

            Tony grinned a grin that was so characteristically _Tony_ that Steve couldn’t help the tears that came to his eyes. He then leaned up and kissed him again, more passionate this time. “I’ll see you once these stones are back. Someone’s gonna need to carry you off to the doctor, huh?”

            Tony then adjusted his wristband to 2012 and smiled at him once more, taking Steve’s wrist and adjusting his to 2013 for him.

            “It’ll just be a few minutes,” Tony promised before disappearing.

            Steve stood there, staring out into the darkness of Vormir for another minute after he was once again alone. Well, alone as he could be with a ghost of an enemy behind him.

            “Whatever it takes,” he murmured to himself before turning to face Schmidt one last time. “How does your existence look now?”

 

            Steve watched as Tony placed the tesseract into a briefcase that was the mirror image to the one Steve now held in his hand. He wasn’t sure if he could interfere with what was going on, if he might change anything by just having his teammate see him now.

            Still, Steve found his feet moving before he was able to rationalize that he _shouldn’t be doing this_ , and before Tony was able to close the door, Steve set his own briefcase down on the next table, startling the genius and making Tony nearly drop his briefcase as he turned around to face him, eyes wide and nervous.

            His gaze brightened upon seeing Steve there, though. “Steve, I thought you—oh, you’re not my Steve.”

            _I’m not,_ Steve wanted to say, because he wasn’t sure if he’d ever be allowed to call Tony ‘his’ again after he’d messed things up so badly all those years ago. Tony may have forgiven him, and they may have been trying to work things out together again, but… he wasn’t sure if he’d ever truly forgive _himself_ for all of it.

            “I’m here to return the stone,” Steve said, smiling softly at the amazement on Tony’s face.

            “We won? If you’re bringing it back—what the hell happened to your arm?” Tony demanded sharply, reaching out to grab Steve’s arm before realizing that he probably shouldn’t touch it. “I thought we talked about this and agreed that Bruce would be most likely to survive, you look half dead!”

            “I don’t know if I should be telling you what’s going to happen, but Bruce _is_ going to use the gauntlet,” Steve murmured, mumbling a ‘thanks’ when Tony took the stone from him and placed it back into the box. “There’s going to be something that happens after Bruce has the gauntlet… something you can’t prepare for. But just know this—no matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you. Okay? Whatever it takes. Things are going to hurt, _really_ hurt, but we’ll… we’ll fix them. I promise.”

            Tony stepped forward to give him a half-hug, careful of his damaged arm. “I won’t let you do this to yourself, Steve.”

            “You don’t have a choice,” Steve murmured, smiling when Tony pressed their foreheads together. “Whatever it takes, right?”

            “I’m not willing to sacrifice everything,” Tony argued, which was exactly what Steve’s argument was going to Vormir.

            “I already know that you are, though,” Steve murmured, tilting his head up so that he could kiss Tony’s forehead. There was another Steve that this Tony was going to go kiss as they prepared to bring half the universe back, and he had his own Tony to get back to in just a minute. The other stone and hammer had already been taken care of, only these last few moments remained.

            “Tell me what I need to change,” Tony pleaded, his quiet voice cracking with emotion. “I’ll do anything, Steve, I’ll—”

            “I know you will,” Steve said, taking a step back. “Keep yourself safe, alright? No matter what happens, just know I _will_ see you again. I promise.”

            Steve didn’t stick around to see what would happen, no. He needed to get back to his own timeline, to see his friends again, before Howard could catch sight of him. As he dialed his wristband to 2023, Steve’s heart hadn’t felt as light as it did in years.

            He couldn’t wait to be home, with his family finally back together again. He didn’t have to return home with no stones and a hole in his heart anymore, he could return with the stones back where and _when_ they should be, with the two people he’d been missing.

            Yes, they’d been willing to do whatever it took to right the wrong Thanos had done five years back, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t ready to keep that same promise to do everything in his power to make sure they get their happy endings, too. After all, he promised. Whatever it takes. Not every ending needs to end in tears, not every ending needs to end in bittersweet heartache. Not every ending needs to end in death.

            Sometimes… sometimes it can end in hope, in love, in future promises and soft laughter and gentle smiles. Sometimes an ending can be a beginning.


End file.
